SA Great Pt. 1
(this post has not been endorsed in any way by the 'SA Great' people, but surely they would if they knew about it)
Chris, over here, recently asked me if there were any Adelaide bands that I could recommend, in anticipation of his impending move down here. The fact that bands form, dissolve, and intertwine with one another in the space of a day means that any list I write would by no means be exhaustive, or even scraping the surface of what goes on in our shadowy little town.
In addition to this, it's pretty difficult actually getting hold of recordings of some of the bands I want to include.
But I'll certainly give it a good ol' college try!!! (click the pics for webpages)
HIT THE JACKPOT
These guys have been around forever. Starting as a two piece, Jess (left) and Kynan recruited Seb and they started trading instruments with alarming regularity, and with equally alarming proficiency. Seb recently moved to London (the subject of the farewell post below) and Scott has picked up the sticks...
LINDSEY LOW HAND
... and that's Scott on the left, in one of the greatest album covers ever (for the full effect, see the insert and back cover too). Lindsey Low Hand are Scott, Craig and JC. Craig's from Melbourne, so I guess technically they're not an 'Adelaide band' per se, but I don't hold much credence in that whole 'Melb v Adelaide' thing anyway, so for all intents and purposes, here they are.
I guess their track 'The City' would've been more apt for Chris' arrival, but some people would argue that the track I chose instead would be too.
Not me, though. I love this town.
BIRTH GLOW
What on earth do I say about Birth Glow?? They've been labelled all sorts of things, but nothing has really hit the nail on the head. Personally, I think the photo (taken at the tail end of a looong Halloween party) says it all.
HOME FOR THE DEF
aka Nigel. This man is my hero. I tell this story to anyone who'll listen: I was DJing (in the sense that I put CDs in to the players and hit 'play') at an event and I played 'Harold & Joe', a Cure b-side. Nigel then played a set, one man, a guitar and a 4-track player. I was blown away by the pure creativity and sense of joy and the uniqueness (uniquity?) of it all. Then he dedicated his version of The Cure's 'Caterpillar' to me, for playing Harold & Joe. Well, I was chuffed. At the time, I was looking to form or join a band but no one was really doing what I wanted to do. So I approached Nigel after the show and asked him if he needed a Fruitbat to his Jim-Bob. Thankfully he knew what I was talking about and said yes. This was back in 1999 and we're still doing stuff together.
Here's his Elliot Smith cover, which, in my book, shits all over the original:
BABYDOLL
(no website, sorry)
Well, image searching for this one was interesting! I didn't have any luck, so I used a sketch I did for their track 'Wagon', which never got used (I was asked to do it, it wasn't an unsolicited crazy fan thing). BabyDoll went through a lot of line-up changes before they finally imploded a few years back. At their farewell show, all of the old members got up onstage and it was a bit of a rockabilly love-in, actually. Lots of fun. BabyDoll delivered some of the greatest shows I've ever seen. The crowd would usually go absolutely nuts and there were singalongs, stage-storming, the whole shemozzle. I don't think I've ever seen an Adelaide band stir up such a frenzy since.
The track I've chosen to use was actually banned from the radio, due to a possible contempt of court issue. Yeah, it's called Snowtown, and they mention barrels but I fail to see how a jury would be affected by it... apart from maybe going into a crazy trance of dancing...
HORRAHEDD
The elusive Horrahedd! Actually a big beardy three piece, Horrahedd hail from the Barossa region and rarely play live shows, mostly due to the fact that the Wurlitzer is a pain in the bum to move.
'Take The Radio' is one of my all-time favourite songs ever and samples 'The Celluloid Closet' to brilliant effect.
FREQUENT SEAHORSE
I haven't actually heard much from the Frequent Seahorse in a while, which is a shame. I remember being at a show they'd organised, which showcased some of Adelaide's bedroom lo-fi electronic acts. I hadn't seen them before and didn't know what to expect. I recall I was conversing with someone in a corner, and I was a wee bit squiffy, and upon hearing Frequent Seahorse starting, I was dumbstruck and interrupted the person who was talking to me and said "Excuse me. I have to leave now. I think I need to see this." and walked away, mid-conversation to watch the band. It was a bit rude but I think it was worth it. I ended up with a copy of their CD in my jacket and listened to it repeatedly over the next few weeks. The above photo was taken at that very same show.
End of Part 1...
- Ringo
6 comments:
Thanks for those, man. Sounds like there is some good music coming out of South Aus. Phew. I was heavily skeptical about the Elliot Smith cover, but it turns out to be one of my favs, and arguably better than the original. I'm going to link to you when I get to doing my post tomorrow.
Have you heard of "We Grow Up" or :No Through Road"? They seem not bad...
No Through Road had pride of place in my first post :)
And they played with Batrider last night, at a relatively new venue called the Edinburgh Castle. They sounded brilliant. The PA rig was amazing!
eeerrrrrr......what about 'The Angels'? and Paul Kelly?.....yes I am THAT old.
Actually, The Angels played at a Ball I attended when I was 17, they were called The Keystone Angels in those days , and I was thrown on stage by the crowd and got to sing with them....*sigh* those were the days!
Note to self: try and listen out for any of these bands.....
Funny you should mention The Angels: singer Doc Neeson was, according my parents, a good friend of my father when they were younger. In addition to that, Doc's mother was my mother's midwife! Of course, I've got absolutely no proof to back it up...
Does anyone out there have any recordings of when The Angels were a jug band??
As for Paul Kelly, I reckon his track 'Adelaide' will have to be included in Part II. I've only just become a recent convert to his work.
Three D Radio (93.7fm) is a good place to find out more about Adelaide bands. And also the street press, like dB magazine and Rip It Up.
I just finished up an interview of No Through Road for my music site, will be running it next week. Thanks for the tip on Matt, he makes good music.
Hey mate, that No Through Road interview is up at my music site: http://www.afreeman.org/?p=45
Check it out and see what you think.
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